Mannequin Marines

One, known as ‘Rover,’ is a moving smart target based on a Segway platform. Produced by Australian-based Marathon Robotics, it can zoom around firing ranges and mimic the behavior of insurgents, foreign fighters and civilians in a combat zone. When fired on, they even scramble for cover.

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Currently used by Australian armed forces, the Marine Corps will test them this summer before deciding whether to integrate them into standard training.

On another front, Marines in Japan are already using a medical training mannequin called SimMan 3G. He breathes, he cries, he squirts blood and he’s no dummy.

SimMan 3G, produced by Norwegian-based Laerdal Medical, is being used to train Marines in battlefield triage at the new III Marine Expeditionary Force Medical Trauma Simulations Training Center aboard Camp Hansen. The mannequin is so lifelike that its pupils even react to light exposure. It has a pulse and its lips can turn blue if it isn’t getting enough oxygen.

The question is, when will these two devices be combined into a robot you can shoot, run down and then treat for its injuries?